3rd class medical urinalysis?

"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote:

You are right about the tests failing. Especially the quick tests. They
fail at a rate close to 50% both false positives and negatives that's why
we stopped using them. We use a lab with a mass spectrometer that could
probably tell what you had for dinner last Thursday. And a positive is a
positive only after a medical review officer talks to the tested
individual and finds out all the legal substances that they could have
ingested that might give a false positive.

I know this is getting out of the aviation thing; but, if these
advanced techniques you mention are so refined, how comes we often
hear about problems with professional athletes being falsely accused
of doping? Since there is a lot of money at stake, I wouldn't think
they go for the cheap version of the tests; pro athletes are surrounded
by physicians who should know better about what substances might or might
not cause a problem; the whole thing about chain of custody of the
samples should be taken care of very carefully because of they are under
a lot of scrutiny, etc. So, if they can't seem to get it right in such
a context, why should I trust my hypothetical employer on this issue?

(note that my current employer doesn't require such a test -- I don't
have teen age kids, and only smoked the thing where it was legal to do
so)

--Sylvain

Sylvain wrote:
"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote:

You are right about the tests failing. Especially the quick tests.
They fail at a rate close to 50% both false positives and negatives
that's why we stopped using them. We use a lab with a mass
spectrometer that could probably tell what you had for dinner last
Thursday. And a positive is a positive only after a medical review
officer talks to the tested individual and finds out all the legal
substances that they could have ingested that might give a false
positive.

I know this is getting out of the aviation thing; but, if these
advanced techniques you mention are so refined, how comes we often
hear about problems with professional athletes being falsely accused
of doping? Since there is a lot of money at stake, I wouldn't think
they go for the cheap version of the tests; pro athletes are
surrounded by physicians who should know better about what substances
might or might not cause a problem; the whole thing about chain of
custody of the samples should be taken care of very carefully because
of they are under a lot of scrutiny, etc. So, if they can't seem to
get it right in such a context, why should I trust my hypothetical
employer on this issue?

(note that my current employer doesn't require such a test -- I don't
have teen age kids, and only smoked the thing where it was legal to
do so)

--Sylvain

The pro athletes have real good lawyers. Add to that (like that isn't
enough) a lot of the things that athletes use are already in the human
system naturally and the performance improvement comes from increasing the
amount that is there.

As far as trusting you employer I don't ask you to. We always use a third
party lab that then uses an independent medical review officer.

Since you mentioned good tests you'd be surprised at some of the
organizations that use the cheap tests. We had an employee that failed for
cocaine on a Tuesday and admitted to me that he had used it Sunday
afternoon. He thought it was strange though that we caught him because the
day before his FEDERAL probation officer had tested him with the little
instant read cups on Monday and he passed.

I have a lot of employees and would be employees that take drug screens for
the companies I represent and have spent a lot of time dealing with the
results and I'd be tickled to death if you could find me any proof that just
being in a room with a pot smoker is enough to make you test positive much
less being in one where someone has smoked in the past. If you test positive
for pot you got enough in you to get high.

When I was in high school the student bathrooms seemed to vent into the
gym teachers office. They had to abandon their offices during lunch
periods because they ended up too high to teach their next classes.

Margy

On Apr 18, 1:11 pm, Margy Natalie wrote:


When I was in high school the student bathrooms seemed to vent into the
gym teachers office. They had to abandon their offices during lunch
periods because they ended up too high to teach their next classes.


Yeh right. Toilets venting into teachers offices? LOL If this story
has a grain of truth I'd imagine that is simply that they wanted any
excuse not to teach the brats... The concentration of smoke in a
typical room is so low (as compared to that in the smokers lungs -
which already filtered out a lot of the THC) you simply can't get high
that way and that is also why you don't test positive on a drug
screen. This has been medically tested... Good urban myth story tho'

Cheers

wrote in message
ups.com...
On Apr 17, 7:05 am, "Finn" wrote:
Hi all, going for my medical soon and was wondering if I will be
subject to a drug-screen urinalysis as well as other urine tests. I've
tried looking for the info but could not find it. thanks, Jon

Finn

Why be concerned with a drug screen? The two main reasons why people
might worry about a drug screen a
1) An idiot who is using illegal drugs which will prevent him/her from
being a good pilot
2) An idiot's attempt to hide a serious medical condition that would
impair his/her ability to fly


Or, 3) He's really worried about the prostrate exam but is too shy to ask
about it so he asked about the drug screen instead?

:-)

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

"Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea Hawk at wow way d0t com writes:

Or, 3) He's really worried about the prostrate exam but is too shy to ask
about it so he asked about the drug screen instead?

Is a DRE part of an aviation medical exam?

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Look it up.

On Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:35:33 -0400, "Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea
Hawk at wow way d0t com wrote:

wrote in message
oups.com...
On Apr 17, 7:05 am, "Finn" wrote:
Hi all, going for my medical soon and was wondering if I will be
subject to a drug-screen urinalysis as well as other urine tests. I've
tried looking for the info but could not find it. thanks, Jon

Finn

Why be concerned with a drug screen? The two main reasons why people
might worry about a drug screen a
1) An idiot who is using illegal drugs which will prevent him/her from
being a good pilot
2) An idiot's attempt to hide a serious medical condition that would
impair his/her ability to fly


Or, 3) He's really worried about the prostrate exam but is too shy to ask
about it so he asked about the drug screen instead?

It really pays to bring your own lubricant and keep it warm. Most
experienced pilots use Marvel Mystery Oil, although some swear by
Pledge.

Don

On Apr 16, 7:35 pm, "Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea Hawk at wow way
d0t com wrote:
wrote in message

ups.com...

On Apr 17, 7:05 am, "Finn" wrote:
Hi all, going for my medical soon and was wondering if I will be
subject to a drug-screen urinalysis as well as other urine tests. I've
tried looking for the info but could not find it. thanks, Jon

Finn

Why be concerned with a drug screen? The two main reasons why people
might worry about a drug screen a
1) An idiot who is using illegal drugs which will prevent him/her from
being a good pilot
2) An idiot's attempt to hide a serious medical condition that would
impair his/her ability to fly

Or, 3) He's really worried about the prostrate exam but is too shy to ask
about it so he asked about the drug screen instead?


Some great replies! Can't a guy just be curious without being called
an idiot?

Why be concerned with a drug screen? The two main reasons why people
might worry about a drug screen a
1) An idiot who is using illegal drugs which will prevent him/her from
being a good pilot
2) An idiot's attempt to hide a serious medical condition that would
impair his/her ability to fly


I have been subject to random screens for 8 yrs as an air traffic
controller, and am currently enrolled (3 yrs) in a random program that
is required to use my USCG Captain's license. I was going to ask if my
enrollment might qualify/replace a screen at the medical exam. No need
now. Finn (drug free idiot)